The FDIC's Board of Directors today approved a final rule on
assessments that affects payment dates, prepayments and interest
rate calculations.

The changes are intended to: eliminate a possible fifth
assessment payment in 1995 that would have been required under the
previous rules for banks that use the cash basis method of
accounting; permit prepaying the first 1996 installment in 1995
for institutions wishing to do so; and update the basis used to
calculate interest on over- and underpayments of assessments to
reflect the use of quarterly, rather than annual Treasury data.

The specific changes are:

The first quarterly payment will be due the first business day
after January 1 rather than December 30 of the previous year;

Institutions may continue using the previous schedule by
making a first payment for 1996 -- for either the first
quarter or the entire semiannual period -- by December 30;

To accommodate fiscal year as well as calendar year reporters,
double payments may be made in any quarter;

To more closely reflect market conditions, in computing
interest on assessment underpayments or reimbursing
overpayments the FDIC will use a rate tied to the three-month -more-

Treasury bill, rather than an average over a 12-month period
of the Treasury's value of funds rate.
The Board also adopted a technical amendment to the final rule
that advances the announcement of the semiannual rate schedule for
Bank Insurance Fund members to 15 days before the invoice date
instead of the current 45-day advance notice period. The purpose
of this amendment is to enable the FDIC to use more current
financial information to determine the assessment rate schedule for
the upcoming semiannual period. Thus, the announcement date for
the first semiannual period moves from October 16 to November 15,
and for the second semiannual period moves from April 15 to May 15.

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Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore
public confidence in the nation's banking system. The FDIC insures deposits at
the nation's 12,000 banks and savings associations and it promotes the safety and
soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks
to which they are exposed.